FAQ – Cardiac and Vascular Consultants, Florida

The cardiac work-up involves two parts: a history and a physical. The physician will ask a series of questions in order to obtain information that could be relevant to the underlying symptoms of cardiac and vascular disease. Some of these questions include:

• Your chief complaint
• Other heart-related complaints or past “incidents”
• Medications you are currently taking
• Past illnesses and surgeries
• Family history
• Non-cardiac complaints
• Lifestyle information (smoking, alcohol consumption, etc.)

Your chief complaint and history will determine whether or not you need to have further testing for specific illnesses and how urgent the need for testing is. After taking your history, your cardiologist will perform a physical examination, which includes listening to your heartbeat, lungs, and blood vessels of the neck and groin; taking your pulse rate; checking your extremities for edema; and feeling your abdomen for tenderness or swelling.

To reschedule or cancel your appointment at any of our locations, please call (352) 633-1966 and ask for our scheduling department or go to our Patient Portal.

“Heart disease – also called cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease- is a simple term used to describe several problems related to plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries, or atherosclerosis. As the plaque builds up, the arteries narrow, making it more difficult for blood to flow and creating a risk for heart attack or stroke.”

– American Heart Association

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance used by the body to build cell walls and make several essential hormones. Your liver produces cholesterol, and you absorb it from the animal fats you eat. There are two types: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). The former carries the cholesterol around the body in the blood, and the latter transports cholesterol out of the blood into the liver.

When cholesterol is too high, or the levels of the two types are out of balance (dyslipidaemia), the cholesterol can clog the arteries, affecting the flow of blood.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs, and limbs. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, fibrous tissue, and other substances in the blood. When plaque builds up in the body’s arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. Over time, plaque can harden and narrow the arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body.

Blocked blood flow to your legs can cause pain and numbness. It can also raise your risk of getting an infection in the affected limbs. Your body may have a hard time fighting the infection.

If severe enough, blocked blood flow can cause gangrene (tissue death). In very serious cases, this can lead to leg amputation.

If you have leg pain when you walk or climb stairs, talk with your doctor. Sometimes older people think that leg pain is just a symptom of aging. However, the cause of the pain could be P.A.D. Tell your doctor if you’re feeling pain in your legs and discuss whether you should be tested for P.A.D.